The police cordon around Los Angeles is widening. Karen Bass, the city's Democratic mayor, declared a curfew on Tuesday to curb the violence that has erupted in some of the demonstrations against Donald Trump's immigration enforcement operations. Bass supported the measure after 23 businesses were vandalized on Monday, the fourth day of protests. The ban will be in effect from 8 p.m. Tuesday night to 6 a.m. Wednesday (local time)."Police will arrest and charge those who violate the curfew. If you don't live or work in downtown Los Angeles, don't go there," Bass said Tuesday afternoon local time.
A patchwork of security forces can be seen within the perimeter that authorities have closed to the public. A brief stroll down a handful of streets is enough to observe the robust and diverse official presence. An amalgamation of blue, black, khaki, or camouflage uniforms, each representing a different agency. Their commanders may be different, but they all have the same objective: to stop the protests that, since Friday, have taken to the streets to demand an end to the terror Trump has unleashed on migrant communities.
The US president resorted to his usual incendiary rhetoric Tuesday afternoon to paint a catastrophic picture of Los Angeles, the country's second-largest city. He called those who have come out to protest"animals" and described the multicultural city as a "disastrous garbage dump" filled with criminals."We are not going to allow an American city to be invaded by a foreign enemy. That is what they are," the president said. Trump also justified the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 infantry soldiers in a display of force that has sparked a tense standoff with Californian authorities.
Despite her rhetoric, Los Angeles is not a city on fire. That's what local officials have been arguing for days."The social unrest is limited to a few blocks downtown; it's not all downtown or even all over the city. But the images make it look like our city is burning," Bass said Tuesday morning, hours before the state of emergency was declared due to the vandalism."Downtown is less than 2.5 square kilometers compared to the city's 1,302 square kilometers," the councilwoman added.
In five blocks
Protests have taken place on five streets in downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter is the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal building that has been holding undocumented immigrants for days, detained in operations conducted by ICE, the acronym for immigration enforcement.
The jail is located on the hottest corner of Alameda Street and Highway 101. This is where most of the clashes between protesters and law enforcement, including the federal Department of Homeland Security, the California Highway Patrol, the California County Sheriff's Office, and the Los Angeles Police Department, have occurred. The first National Guard troops deployed by Trump arrived there over the weekend.
This north-south freeway is one of Los Angeles' main thoroughfares. Approximately 320,000 vehicles pass through it daily. Its importance makes it attractive to protesters, who blocked it for several minutes on Sunday to make their message against the president heard. The protesters again blocked traffic on Tuesday, but were quickly cleared by riot police.
“Since Saturday, we have witnessed a disturbing escalation in unlawful behavior by protesters,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. The number of arrests in recent days supports the officer’s argument. On Saturday, 26 people were arrested, on Sunday, 40, on Monday, 114, and this Tuesday, 197. Of the arrests made Tuesday afternoon, 160 were made across the street from the detention center. Another 67 were apprehended on the 101 Freeway. “The curfew is necessary to protect lives and safeguard private property,” McDonnell added.
The demonstrations have been limited to a few blocks of the so-called Civic Center, a dozen blocks north of Downtown, which is home to public buildings such as Los Angeles City Hall, state and federal courthouses, as well as municipal offices and the central public library.
Authorities declared a curfew Tuesday afternoon for a slightly larger area. The perimeter includes entire neighborhoods outside the conflict zone, such as the Art District, the Fashion District, Skid Row, and South Park, home to Crypto Arena, the Lakers' home. The area is delineated by major freeways: the 10 freeway, which runs east to west, the 110 freeway, which runs south to north, and the 101 freeway, which runs north to south.
The protests have not only left burned self-driving taxis and vandalized businesses. They have also spread a blanket of graffiti throughout downtown Los Angeles. “Death to the police,” “Fuck Donald Trump,” and “Death to AmeriKKKa” are just a few of the hundreds of messages protesters have written on the facades of public buildings.
Bass noted that Los Angeles is one year away from hosting the 2026 World Cup. The last few days have added to the challenge for organizers in their goal of beautifying the city. City Hall workers have already begun repairing these buildings, but it will take time. The mayor assures that the curfew will help rejuvenate the downtown area with the help of local businesses.
